At the heart of Frontier Nursing University is a talented and diverse community of students, alumni, faculty, staff, Couriers and preceptors. Spotlight blogs feature members of our FNU community that are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to deliver quality health care to underserved and rural populations.

Dr. Vicky Stone-Gale decided she wanted to become a nurse after working as a nurse’s aide in a nursing home for a woman named Diane. As Dr. Stone-Gale watched Diane work with patients, her desire to become a nurse began growing until she finally decided to pursue her dream. At the age of 29 Dr. Stone-Gale became a nurse.

Dr. Stone-Gale received her diploma in nursing in 1984 from Massillon Community Hospital School of Nursing in Massillon, Ohio, and her BSN from Barry University in 1990. She also completed her MSN as a Family Nurse Practitioner from Barry University in 1992.

Dr. Stone-Gale continued her education later in life, receiving her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2011 and is currently in their PhD in Nursing program. She is now an Assistant Professor in the FNP program at Frontier Nursing University where she is Course Coordinator for Primary Care I. She has also taught Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Introduction to Scholarly Writing.

Her teaching philosophy is to “Teach as I would want to learn”. She considers the most rewarding aspect of teaching to be watching students grow in their knowledge from semester to semester.

Dr. Stone-Gale has practiced in primary care for 23 years as a Family Nurse Practitioner and currently maintains a practice in Plantation, FL. She is board certified in Family Practice by the American Nurses Credentialing Center and the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.

Dr. Stone-Gale is a founding member and President of the South Florida Council of Advanced Practice Nurses (SFCAPN) and has remained actively involved in the council since its inception 19 years ago. She has also served as Ways & Means Chair and First V.P. of the council in previous years. She previously sat on the Board of Directors for the Florida Nurses Association, is a member of the Florida Nurse Practitioner Network and the Florida Coalition for Nurse Practitioners and is actively involved with NP legislation on the state and national level and lobbies for nursing issues in Tallahassee, FL. and Washington, D.C. She was appointed by Governor Bush to serve on the Florida Board of Nursing which she did for four years, serving as Chairwoman for the FBON, Chair of the Advanced Practice Committee, and was a member of the Legislative committee and the Credentialing committee for the board.

Dr. Stone-Gale has been involved as a Research Coordinator and Sub-Investigator in many pharmaceutical clinical research trials. She has been awarded Broward County Nurse Practitioner of the Year on 5 separate occasions and also Broward County Nurse of the Year. She has served on the Family Nurse Practitioner Expert Panel for ANCC and has been a member of the speaker’s bureau for numerous pharmaceutical companies. She is a strong advocate on nursing issues and encourages nurses to advance their education to provide the best evidence based care they can. She currently lives in Davie, Florida with her husband has three daughters and five grandchildren.

Her advice for upcoming Nurse Practitioners is to join professional organizations, always ask questions, practice within your scope, report something that you don’t feel is right, advance your education, work in a place you love and have fun.